Neist

I guess it's apt that I reply. And I have a quick question before I can comment more in-depth. Will taking the second degree require a substantial amount of additional loans? Also, where do you want to work? In what environment is your dream career? Obviously, I'm pursuing a second MA (signature), but I don't necessarily think it's a path for everyone.

Oh, that sounds neat! I think taking a zen stance of "I'm just going to do this and I don't really care how I do" has helped a lot. I'm just doing work. I'm trying hard not to think about it too much. Thinking about homework is a slippery slope!

I agree, and I'd add further than don't get a doctorate unless it's both financially feasible, beneficial (or necessary) to your career path, and possible (some job markets are really rough). If you want to pursue certain paths, the doctorate will be necessary, but it might not be. For example, I'd love to pursue a doctorate after my MA's, but the PhD humanities job market isn't super great right now, and it'd require taking on additional debt. Finding a job that only requires an MLIS is significantly easier than finding a job that requires a history PhD. Things to think about.

I'm adapting to the speed pretty decently, and I'm currently participating in 4 extracurricular reading groups. But I'm pretty nuts, so. And I don't watch TV, either. :X I was a little afraid about grades for a bit earlier in the semester, but I'm doing fine. There's always the fear that one's standards won't meet expectations. @Need Coffee in an IV Good luck on the field trip! Museum field trip? Back when I was studying art history, I took a museum studies course that required a lot of field trips. I always had fun.

I use ABBYY FineReader. It's a little costly, but it's one of the best/easiest to use. You could use Adobe, but if it's a bad scan, scanned at an angle, or has a complicated layout, you risk the OCR not flowing or generating as it should. If you have any additional questions, feel free to ask.

What sort of subject are you specifically interested in within the history of media/mass culture? It's difficult to give you any specific answer without a bit more details.

I went straight into a graduate program, and one of my biggest challenges was getting meaningful feedback before my applications were due. My capstone paper wasn't completed until the fall, but because I wanted it to be polished, I asked my capstone advisor if he'd give iterative feedback as I continually polished my paper (which he was more than willing to do). However, burning through half a dozen or more revisions in a matter of weeks is a little demanding, and I often found myself quickly revising my sample upon immediately receiving feedback to minimize delays. TLDR - If you're relying on an advisor to help you polish your paper, it's probably apt to have realistic expectations of what that will entail for both you and your advisor.

I've been using OCR'ed PDFs and text-to-speech while simultaneously reading, so I get visual and audible reinforcement. It's much faster, but it's still mentally taxing; it requires a fair amount of concentration. Yesterday I burned through 350+ pages of reading. Wave of the future.

I'm no expert, but I'll take a swing. I don't think they care too much how you've acquired it, assuming you're at least somewhat literate with it. I'm sure this varies with program. My program certainly doesn't care unless as long as you can demonstrate proficiency at the level that they expect. I'm not sure if it's expected, but it's desirable because it can be difficult to shove intensive language study into a graduate semester. I'm not sure about offering languages, but some universities will waive the tuition requirements of foreign language study if it's relevant to your degree. Meaning, you might be able to take undergraduate language classes for little to nothing. I don't think they necessarily care, but I could be wrong. A person might be a self-trained polyglot, and I'm guessing that it'd be perfectly acceptable. I hope someone corrects me if I'm incorrect on any point.

There are far better-articulated comments here than I probably could produce, but I thought I'd mention that in some sub-disciplines, it's pretty standard to arrive at the subject from elsewhere (this is especially prevalent in the history of science). For example, one of the doctoral students in the program I'm attending has a background in fine arts. My two cents.

I am convinced that the only difference between graduate level reading materials and undergraduate reading materials is that the former is much, much worse written. How can academics get away with writing this crap? Is the only reason that graduate students read this is because no one else has a prayer of understanding it? Meh.

@betwixt&between As others have generally commented, I wouldn't worry too much. It sounds like your POI was simply a bit busy.

That's unfortunate! Do you have a special prescription or do they simply sell mostly frames? I'm curious because I've considered looking into the site. They are quite cheap. @MarineBluePsy Congrats! It's a wonderful thing to have one in apartment/house. I haven't had one in several years, and I miss it quite a bit.

It's probably different in the sciences, but that seems pretty ludicrous to me. There's no way I can't not work at home. However, I don't have lab time, either, nor do I have any specified office time. Just lots of reading/writing.

I'm taking three classes instead of two; the department only requires two to be full-time as a TA, but most students supplement the two classes with language training (which I do not need). So instead of two classes and a language course, I'm taking three classes. I'm not yet sure if it was a good idea. I'm not overwhelmed, but it's riding the line. Also, the class I'm TA'ing for is remarkably reading heavy. The class has several discussion groups with individually-assigned readings, and I pretty much have to review them all. They are easy reads, but it's time-consuming. Also, I'm involved in four reading groups, because.. I'm insane? I am having fun, though.

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny You're welcome! I'm pretty sure graduate school pushes more at you than what you can reasonably do well. This has been me since the semester started. Obscure, esoteric piece of philosophical scholarship? I'll read it 30 minutes before class. There's just not enough time. And I'm putting in long hours, so it's not as if I'm not dedicated. My days are easily 10+ hours, and usually over 12.

I'm taking a break from essay writing, and I thought I'd share a musical interlude. You can thank me later.

Wow, I wish I was that prepared last year! I'm not even sure if my apps opened in September.

I use Drive a ton, but I never liked that functionality. I just drag and drop them. I dislike finicky things. @hippyscientist That's nuts! If I do eventually go after a Ph.D., the comps are the part of the process I fear most. Although, I'm not sure what they're like in STEM fields. In the humanities, it's pretty much expected that you know a small library's worth of knowledge.

If any random history graduate school applicants wander in here and wonder if the reading is as heavy as they say it is.... it is. I'm organizing my readings for next week because my school week ends on Wednesday, and I might have 1000 pages that I'm responsible for before the beginning of next week. And two essays.

Freaking out is completely normal. It's a stressful process. Try to take comfort in the fact that there are others here who are just as stressed as you are and will listen to your concerns when you need a willing ear.

That looks pretty interesting! And I have suspicions that the editors of the journal this article was published in had some difficulty reading it as well; I've found a few typos. Not sure how my professor will react to my précis. It's well-articulated, but it's probably not what they wanted or expected. #YOLO.

So, this week's précis is going to be a little bit of a soapbox. I studied an 8-page article over 5 hours and still have no idea what the entirety of the argument concerns. Why are academics so terrible at writing? Do they deliberately write in ways that encourage discipline echo chambers? Ugh.

Noob. My alcohol therapy started way before my homework was done (it still isn't done). Also, everyone don't forget that you can change your application season to "Already Attending" because we're awesome now.

I only emailed people for three reasons: To ensure that they weren't retiring. To query a list of their peers (my interests were obscure and I had trouble locating POI). To ask if I might receive a copy of their graduate student handbook. I found the entire formal POI query a little awkward, for everyone. Too many expectations. The above questions were informal enough that I contacted with less pressure.